New and great technologies = faster, cheaper

OK as if there were not enough threads already in this place...well here is another one.

This thread is for the sharing of New and Great technologies, developed or developing with a cause to make racing things faster and hopefully more affordable too.

Hell, YOU SAW it here first, well probably second but whatever, the listers can marvel or dream or maybe even grab some and make it into something Cyril would be glad to have.

Here we go...for starters

Tegris: Thermoplastic composite takes on carbon fiber

Whilst having similar properties to carbon fiber, Tegris won't shatter on impact, is approximately a tenth the cost, and is fully recyclable

Ferrari front air splitter made from Tegris

Custom race Aero Splitter before the second layer of Tegris is added (machined recesses for hi-density foam clearly visible)

Motor racing has adopted Tegris in a number of ways - Powerstream's Aero splitter is one

Spartanburg, South Carolina, is home to one of the largest privately owned chemical and textile research establishments in the world, Milliken & Company. The firm's innovative research that combines textiles and chemistry has now produced a thermoplastic composite called Tegris that is cheap, recyclable and tough. These properties make Tegris an attractive alternative to (or composite partner for) carbon fiber, and it's already proving to have wide ranging applications in the automotive, military and sporting industries.

Tough, cheap and 100 percent recyclable

With increasing demand for lighter and more fuel efficient vehicles using more environmentally-sustainable products, newer polypropylene-based products lay claim to being both green and cheap. Recent developments in additive and resin technologies have improved the performance, ease of production and range of applications for polymers such as polypropylene, particularly Tegris and a rival product named Pure from Dutch textiles manufacturer The Royal Lankhorst Euronete Group.

By collaborating with its clients, Milliken has been able to leverage its new technologies in interesting ways. One example is a carbon fiber/Tegris/carbon fiber sandwich that has equal stiffness to a carbon fiber-only structure, yet is 18 percent lighter, more damage tolerant and requires twice the energy to break. Another is an aluminum/Tegris/aluminum sandwich construction, which takes three times the energy to break.

The production process

Tegris starts out as a series of polypropylene (PP) films that form a tape yarn within a polymer matrix - for composite processing - before being woven into fabric. This is then pressed under heat and pressure to form a single piece approximately 0.005 inch (0.13 mm) that weighs just 0.02 lbs/sq.ft (0.11 kg/sq.m).

Sheet and plate is typically available in 0.125 inch, 0.250 inch and 0.500 inch thick sizes, so multiple layers are added depending on the required thickness. The NASCAR Aero splitters made from the material are typically 100 layers thick (1/2 inch or 12mm).

The outer layers are melted together to perform a similar function to that of resin in fiberglass products. From here, the sheet can be formed into a variety of shapes using heat and pressure, depending on the mold. The end result contains no fragment-producing glass, has high impact resistance and retains strength from around 180 degrees F down to -40F, as well as being easier on the production molds.

To put this into perspective, whilst having similar properties to carbon fiber, (the company claims 70 percent of the strength) Tegris won't shatter on impact, is approximately a tenth the cost, and is fully recyclable.

Applications

Tegris is already seeing use as protective armor by the U.S. military in its vehicles, primarily against IEDs. There's also such diverse applications as small watercraft, helmets, outdoor furniture and baggage.

Tumi, a high end luggage manufacturer which holds Tumi the exclusive rights for Tegris in the travel goods market, is already using the material in its new Tegra-Lite collection. This includes a range of packing cases and smaller carry-on baggage that claim enhanced durability, impact resistance and less weight. All very desirable attributes for baggage when travelling.

Another outfit that appreciates the lightness and toughness of the material is Riddell, makers of body armor for football players. Its Lightspeed Shoulder Pads are claimed to be the lightest in the business without compromising protection.

In the automotive racing world, as mentioned, Tegris is being used in NASCAR racing for Aero splitters, as well as some door panels. Powerstream Industries has further developed the process to suit the equally harsh road racing environment, using CNC-machined pockets in a sheet of Tegris which is inlayed with high density foam and covered with a cap layer of Tegris that is then heat formed back into one piece, achieving a high level of rigidity.

"Much of our development is to create advanced duplex composite panels to compete against carbon fiber," says Powerstream's Chris Meurett. "But with approximately 50 times the impact resistance."

Tegris can also be glued or threaded to accept mechanical fasteners. "We have done extensive testing with various adhesives designed for polypropylene and have found the bond unsatisfactory for our use," Meurett adds. "The very best way to bond Tegris to Tegris is through a consolidation process using heat and pressure on a platen press which when heated to the correct temperature essentially turn 2 pieces into 1."

This isn't super space age or as technically cool as some of the above stuff.... but might be cool for people that have never heard of it.

Scotts makes an metal oil filter that you can buy for just about any bike that (supposedly) will filter down to near the size of a bloodcell (25 microns). They say that their filters will filter down to 35 microns whereas the normal filter goes down to somewhere around 95 microns. Apparently paper is not consistent throughout.
Anyways, they aren't super cheap - I think the two different filters I needed for the KTM 525 were about $120 for the pair? Maybe more - dont quote me I cant remember - but the paper ones are about $15 apiece! And you never have to replace these.... and they filter better. When you wanna change the oil you just clean them with some brake cleaner and then back in they go. I was always annoyed at finding the two different filters online and they are so expensive to begin with.... so I just bit the bullet and grabbed these. Check it out.

Tegris is twintex. Search it and you'll see some other well thought out applications.

Its probably the best product for bashplates going around atm - but having the $$$ to make the moulds is the issue, kinda like making moulds for roto moulding but they need to be under pressure and heated. I can get you the cloth and a manufactured sample if you like. Jaybo has seen me beat the shite out of a 3mm panel and its still in one piece in the shed being used as a bog board undamaged. You wont get the same rigidity out of it as CF per mm thickness - depends on the application me thinks.

For me, the latest invention affordable to the common man is the new LiFePO4 type battery.

You get more cranking Amps, the capacity to crank even when they are discharged of most of its nominal capacity, the ability to re-charge at lightning speed and incredible weight gains over lead/acid technology.

People spend thousands in Carbon Fiber to reduce weight in racing vehicles but many are still carrying a big chunk of lead around. There are a few threads going on here in Advrider about these batteries but they are still unknown to many.

This isn't super space age or as technically cool as some of the above stuff.... but might be cool for people that have never heard of it.

Scotts makes an metal oil filter that you can buy for just about any bike that (supposedly) will filter down to near the size of a bloodcell (25 microns). They say that their filters will filter down to 35 microns whereas the normal filter goes down to somewhere around 95 microns. Apparently paper is not consistent throughout.
Anyways, they aren't super cheap - I think the two different filters I needed for the KTM 525 were about $120 for the pair? Maybe more - dont quote me I cant remember - but the paper ones are about $15 apiece! And you never have to replace these.... and they filter better. When you wanna change the oil you just clean them with some brake cleaner and then back in they go. I was always annoyed at finding the two different filters online and they are so expensive to begin with.... so I just bit the bullet and grabbed these. Check it out.